Thinking Together

More than 65 years after our Constitution was passed, is it not time to do away with reservations based on caste? Is it not true that all poor people should be given the benefit of reservation in government jobs and educational institutions?R K Singh, Bulandshahr, UPRESERVATION for socially, educationally and economically backward castes is a provision in our Constitution. This has been given wide acceptance because of the long history of social discrimination suffered by those belonging to the Scheduled Castes (earlier known as ‘Untouch

CPI(M) Greets Lao People’s Revolutionary Party on its Tenth Congress

The following is the text of the message of greetings sent by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party on the occasion of its 10th Congress. The message was sent on January 15.DEAR Comrades,THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) greets the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party on the occasion of its 10th Congress and wishes the Congress all success. We are confident that the discussions and the decisions will lead to the strengthening of the Party.

Condolences for Sushil Koirala

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury pays respect to former prime minister of Nepal and Nepali Congress president Sushil Koirala in Kathmandu. Koirala, who was elected prime minister of Nepal on February 10, 2014, died of pneumonia at his residence on the outskirts of Kathmandu on February 9. He was 79. He had been suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Yechury was part of an Indian delegation which visited Nepal to pay tributes to Koirala. The delegation was led by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.

HARYANA: Birth Centenary of Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet Observed

THE trio of anti-people economic policies, communalism and authoritarianism is ruling the country today. This trio wants to become trident. The people of the country and the Left shall have to stop this from happening otherwise it would be disastrous for the people. This was said by Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the CPI(M) and member of parliament. He was addressing a meeting at the Matu Ram Community Centre in Rohtak, on February 7 on the occasion of the birth centenary of Comrade Harkishan Singh Surjeet.

CITU Denounces Govt moves for Strategic Sale of PSUs

The following is the statement issued by the Centre for Indian Trade Unions on February 5: AS per a report in one of the leading national English dailies, The Hindu dated February 5, 2016, the government of India is planning to go in for strategic sale of some of India's most efficient and highly profitable public sector undertakings (PSUs). It is also planning aggressive disinvestment of shares in other PSUs. This obviously is meant to hand over our country’s basic economic strength at cheap rates when the stock market is depressed, thus benefiting the global players.

TRAI Bars Facebook's Data Colonialism

ON Monday, February 8, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued its regulations barring differential pricing of data based on content. This has been welcomed widely as a step forward in keeping the internet free from capture by an emerging alliances of global internet monopolies and telcos. Indeed, TRAI's decision goes beyond what Federal Communication Commission (FCC) in the US had decided on net neutrality. Currently, the FCC is enmeshed in a variety of what are called zero rating cases, and hearing them on a case to case basis.

Tripura: Left Front Set for Victory in ADC Elections

AFTER registering a sweeping victory in urban local body elections in the state in December last, the Left Front in Tripura has plunged into another electoral battle. Election to the village committees under Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) will be held on February 24. The counting will take place on February 27.A total of 7,66,946 electorate will elect 4,597 representatives in 587 villages spread across 52 blocks of the state. Village Committees in TTAADC areas are equivalent to gram panchayats in non-ADC areas. The withdrawal of nomination got over February 9.

A Welcome Decision

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement on February 9.THE CPI (M) welcomes the decision of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) disallowing service providers from offering or charging discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content. The CPI(M) has always held that net neutrality is a fundamental pillar of the internet.The consultation process was conducted amid an unprecedented publicity drive by Facebook and certain other companies to sway public opinion but they failed to do so.

Iniquitous Taxes on Petrol and Diesel

IN the month of January alone, there have been three rounds of increase in excise duties by the central government on petrol and diesel. These increases amounted to Rs 2.12 per litre of petrol and Rs 5.5 per litre of diesel. So far there have been nine hikes in excise duties since November 2014, as a result of which the total excise duty of petrol went up by Rs 11.77 and diesel by Rs 13.37 per litre respectively.

North Korea's “Hydrogen Bomb”

THE North Korean government has claimed that it has successfully tested a “hydrogen bomb” on January 5. It was the fourth underground nuclear test conducted by the North Korean government and the first since 2013. Pyongyang has been threatening for some time that it would be testing a more potent nuclear device if political and economic concessions were not forthcoming from the West. The North Korean government has been feeling increasingly threatened as the US and its allies in the region have adopted an even more militarily bellicose attitude.

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